By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

CHELSEA – After struggling throughout the meat of the regular season, the Oak Mountain Lady Eagles have now won back-to-back games for the first time since they beat Chelsea and Vestavia on back-to-back nights in early December. The Lady Eagles upstaged Chelsea on the Lady Hornets senior night, beating Chelsea by a final score of 55-38.

“I think overall we guarded a little bit better in the third quarter and in the second half,” Oak Mountain head coach Allen McGowan said after the game. “And we made shots too. The combination of both kind of opened it up for us. The defensive end we were a little more solid and the offensive end we just had better shot selection too, which helped. “

The Lady Hornets kept the game close early; Michaella Edwards had eight points in the first quarter and 12 in the first half to account for 80 percent of Chelsea’s first half offense and did what she could to keep Chelsea in this one. Down just 14-10 after one however, Chelsea began to slowly lose ground. Cassady Greenwood had 11 first half points while Jacoby Sims had seven to lead Oak Mountain to a 28-15 halftime advantage.

The third was all Oak Mountain, as the Lady Eagles found a shooting touch and clamped down defensively on the home team, and raced out to a 42-22 lead heading into the final quarter. The Lady Eagles at one point held a 28-point lead in the fourth, but Chelsea rallied back to close that gap late in the game, although the Lady Hornets still lost, 55-38.

Edwards led all scorers on the night with 28 points, accounting for all but 10 of Chelsea’s production, while Sims led Oak Mountain with 15.